Real-World Study Compares 2 Long-Acting β2-Agonists for Asthma Control

A study to determine the real-world performance of once-daily fluticasone furoate/vilanterol (FF/VI) vs twice-daily budesonide/formoterol for treating patients with asthma found that FF/VI was associated with lower use of short-acting β2-agonists (SABA) and fewer asthma-related exacerbations. Results of the study were published in the Journal of Asthma.

The retrospective matched cohort study of 37,062 patients with asthma from a US claims database compared asthma outcomes between groups of patients using the 2 different inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting β2-agonists (LABAs). One group consisted 18,531 patients using once-daily FF/VI; the other group consisted 18,531 patients using twice-daily budesonide/formoterol. Asthma control was defined as the mean number of SABA canisters dispensed per patient-year during follow-up.

Investigators found that the mean number of SABA canisters dispensed per patient-year was significantly lower for the FF/VI group than the budesonide/formoterol group (1.47 vs 1.64, respectively; P <.001). Furthermore, the FF/VI group had a 13% lower risk of having an overall asthma-related exacerbation and 22% lower risk of a severe exacerbation compared with the budesonide/formoterol group. Finally, asthma-related exacerbation rates per 100 patient-days were also significantly lower for the FF/VI group compared with the budesonide/formoterol group, both overall exacerbation rates (0.0475 vs 0.0558, respectively; P <.001) and severe exacerbations (0.0026 vs 0.0033, respectively; P =.020).

The study authors wrote, “In real-world practice, initiation of once-daily FF/VI 100/25 mcg in adults with asthma was associated with lower use of SABA and fewer asthma-related exacerbations, which may indicate better asthma control, when compared with use of twice-daily [budesonide/formoterol] 160/4.5 mcg.”

Disclosure: Several study authors declared affiliations with the pharmaceutical industry. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.

Reference

Averell CM, Laliberté F, Germain G, et al. Symptom control in patients with asthma using inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting β2-agonists (fluticasone furoate/vilanterol or budesonide/formoterol) in the US: a retrospective matched cohort study. J Asthma. Published online August 25, 2021. doi:10.1080/02770903.2021.1963767